On June 18, 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee voted unanimously in favor of approving the new drug application (NDA) for ulipristal acetate tablets, 30 mg (ellaOne; Laboratoire HRA Pharma), for use as an emergency contraceptive.

The 11-member committee voted unanimously that sufficient information was available about the efficacy of ulipristal. They also agreed that the safety profile appeared to be acceptable for the proposed indication.

6th Annual Parliamentarians’ Summit on "Balancing the Scales of Women’s Lives in the Countdown to 2015", Ottawa, Canada, June 10th-11 2010

When we speak about universal access to contraceptives and the huge unmet need for family planning services that exists in the world today, the image that usually comes to mind is that of poor women in Africa. Indeed, in most countries, poor women have a much higher rate of unmet need than do women with higher incomes, and in Africa, unmet need for contraception is much higher than in other regions. More than 60 percent of women of reproductive age have an unmet need for contraception in Africa.

Is this condom to avoid pregnancy? Or is it to avoid HIV?

That’s the uncomfortable question representatives from the International Planned Parenthood Federation have sometimes had to ask in clinics in developing countries.

The question is a throwback to the George W. Bush-era rule that wouldn’t allow any US aid money to pay for contraceptives. US President Barack Obama quickly changed the policy when he took office.

Lisa Colarossi

Planned Parenthood of New York City, New York, NY, USA, lisa.colarossi@ppnyc.org

Marissa Billowitz

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak before the Canadian Parliament, at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, about the importance of investing in women as a global development strategy. Canada is gearing up to host the G8/G20 Summits in just a few weeks, where leaders will unveil a maternal health initiative.

The Pill has touched the lives of many people but – like so many other technologies – remains an unknown luxury to around 200 million women, the majority of whom live in developing countries.

Unintended pregnancy is a major public health concern that endangers the lives of women and children and perpetuates the cycle of poverty. The percentage of women who do not want to get pregnant but are not using any type of contraceptive method, the “unmet need,” is alarmingly high across the globe.

To the Editor:

Re “Poverty and the Pill” (column, May 20):

I am pleased that Nicholas D. Kristof raises the important issue of an unmet need for contraception worldwide. Family planning services and access to contraception have measurable health benefits as well as far-reaching socioeconomic benefits for women, families and their communities.